Label: Polydor Records
Release date: October 29, 1984
Production: Roger Glover & Deep Purple
Album length: 45.01 min
Genre: Hard Rock / Heavy Rock
Rating: 9.0/10
After an eight-year split, the legendary British heavy rock giants Deep Purple stormed back onto the scene with their eleventh studio album, »Perfect Strangers«, which reunited their most beloved and most successful lineup, the one fans usually like to call MK II. Singer Ian Gillan came over from Black Sabbath, guitarist Ritchie Blackmore and bassist Roger Glover from Rainbow, keyboardist Jon Lord from Whitesnake, and drummer Ian Paice from the backing band of cult guitarist Gary Moore. While Gillan still jokes about his short stint with Black Sabbath to this day, Blackmore and Glover, after failing to conquer the American market with the AOR version of Rainbow, were just as eager to help revive the band that had made them world-famous. Lord, too, had been quietly growing more and more unhappy with his status in Whitesnake, where he played an increasingly marginal role under the command of former Purple singer David Coverdale, who got more narcissistic with every album. And Paice, who had also tried his luck in Whitesnake for a while before his three-year stretch with Gary Moore, was always, next to Lord, the most devoted Deep Purple member anyway.
The reunion of the most revered version of Deep Purple, and the decision to record a new album and hit the road for a massive tour, was without a doubt the biggest rock event of 1984. The album title and its key track couldn’t have been more fitting. The legendary Mark II musicians had mostly stayed in touch after Deep Purple fell apart, but they had last worked together in 1973, when »Who Do We Think We Are« came out, so they really were perfect strangers, especially Blackmore and Gillan, who somehow managed to (temporarily) bury the hatchet.
On »Perfect Strangers«, which bears the stamp of classic eighties AOR production, they woke up their winning heavy rock recipe again. It was a shamelessly effective combination of Gillan’s melodramatic, wailing vocals, Blackmore’s ever-inventive guitar wizardry, Lord’s rustling organ artistry, Glover’s melodic bass lines and Paice’s demolishing drum fills. Lord’s masterful Hammond playing, as great as ever, especially stood out amid the total triumph of eighties synth sheen. It conjured up memories of romantic, almost forgotten times, made a successful sonic transition possible and built a bridge between old fans and new ones.
Blackmore and Glover also brought some melodic rock influences over from Rainbow, which were particularly obvious in certain choruses. That, too, helped make »Perfect Strangers« such a successful comeback, since it was a blend of the “good old days” of heavy rock romance and the production freshness and drive of the eighties, with a pinch of AOR charm. At the same time, several tracks had no shortage of technically high-caliber instrumental jams, which had always been one of their sonic trademarks.
»Perfect Strangers« is an energetic, hard-rocking merry-go-round from start to finish, with a melodic seasoning, and it features two Purple classics that remain hugely popular to this day. The first is the opening treat »Knocking At Your Back Door«, which kicks off with a dramatic organ intro and a killer guitar riff, while Gillan, stretching his voice sky-high as he tells a classic love story, brings the necessary romantic charm right away. The peak of the energetic atmosphere, which builds in step with raw guitar passages and uncompromising drum fills, is a mighty, melodic AOR-based chorus where layered harmonies blend beautifully. Blackmore’s playful guitar improvisation in the middle section deepens the overall drama, while Gillan proves second by second that he hasn’t lost an ounce of his extraordinary vocal depth and romantic pathos. Meanwhile, the rustling layers of Lord’s Hammond organs create a homely effect and send the message that the good old Deep Purple are back.
The pacifist-minded »Under The Gun«, about a lonely soldier in the middle of a senseless war, is a proper heavy rock bomb, with Gillan singing at full throttle, a potent Blackmore guitar riff and massive organ passages from Lord, where the dramatic mood builds in line with the determined chorus, backed by layered drum transitions. Ritchie’s closing guitar improvisations are once again pure balm for all worshippers of the boundless virtuosity of the man in black. »Nobody’s Home« opens with an inventive synth improvisation that clears the way for a scorching guitar phrase and massive layers of Hammond organ. Gillan is once again excellent at building a family-tinged emotional drama with his vocals. Lord’s mischievous Hammond solo, alongside relentless drum transitions, nicely spices up the punchy atmosphere until Blackmore wraps it up with another splendid solo.
On »Mean Streak«, Gillan more than successfully slips, as only he can, into the vocal role of a lovestruck drunk whose head was turned by the first woman who walked by and shook her backside and hips a little, backed by passionate guitar phrases, a rustling layer of organ and melodically spiced rhythmic interplay. The album’s peak, though, is the title classic, »Perfect Strangers«, where, on the wings of Blackmore’s mighty guitar phrase and pentatonic scales, Deep Purple create a genuinely oriental atmosphere. Its main motif is quite reminiscent of the Rainbow classic »Stargazer« and, by extension, the Led Zeppelin evergreen »Kashmir«. The mystic mood starts to build with Gillan’s mysteriously tinted vocal, while the bass lines, with dynamic drum assistance, gradually bring out the pentatonic rhythmic nuances. Layered Hammond organs, together with that mighty guitar phrase and Gillan’s wailing vocal variations, create the famous oriental-flavored motif, which even today can send every music gourmet into ambient nirvana. The autobiographical lyrics tell of a meeting of old acquaintances who got back together after many years and realized that the old soul that once bound them was still there.
»A Gypsy’s Kiss« is a much lesser-known track than its predecessor, but still a pretty interesting and complex one, and above all a temperamental hard rocker whose hyperactive nature and quickened tempo pull the listener in a heartbeat into a romantic tale about the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle, for which they used the metaphor of a gypsy’s kiss. Ritchie’s inventive guitar phrases are once again in perfect harmony with Lord’s massive organ textures, while Paice and Glover zealously provide a punchy rhythmic layering. Blackmore’s classical-style guitar variation soon gets tangled up in an epic duel with Lord’s mouthwatering organ solo. The excellent power ballad »Wasted Sunsets«, on the strength of Gillan’s phenomenal, heart-wrenching vocal performance and Blackmore’s classically minded guitar artistry, is steeped in a distinctly melancholic atmosphere that doesn’t lack nostalgia for the “good old days”. In the background, Lord diligently hangs mighty organ drapes that deepen the overall melodrama.
The unusual hard rocker »Hungry Daze«, with its interesting rhythmic variations and yet another of Blackmore’s mischievous central guitar phrases, once again with an oriental touch, provides an excellent contrast and confirms that Deep Purple are once again a well-oiled hard rock machine. Gillan shines again with his unrivaled screeching vocal feats, while Blackmore is simply unstoppable at devising clever guitar riffs and complex solo variations. Lord, meanwhile, by infusing synth textures into his traditional organ palette, proves that despite his eternal love for the Hammond he was always open to experimenting with innovative keyboard technology. The closing drama »Not Responsible« is drenched in a dark atmosphere, courtesy of a raw guitar phrase, temperamental bass lines and Gillan’s furious vocal melodrama. Once again the legendary collective successfully demonstrates its extraordinary knack for building mighty, instantly memorable main motifs, and its fondness for kneading together technically accomplished instrumental variations, which peak with Blackmore’s mischievous guitar solo.
»Perfect Strangers« was a triumphant return for hard rock legends everyone had already written off. They found their feet brilliantly in the radically changed technological and production landscape of the eighties and delivered one of the strongest achievements by what most fans consider the most revered Deep Purple lineup. The album is remarkably consistent as a whole, without a single weak moment, even though only two of its songs can be declared genuine Purple classics (both still played live today). The return of the cult quintet was even so successful that, during the sold-out tour, they had to add extra dates at American stadiums. In 1985, judging by the number of sold-out shows and ticket sale profits, they were almost the most successful rock live act around. Ahead of them in concert earnings was only, who else, Bruce Springsteen.
Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Track list:
1. Knocking at Your Back Door (7:09)
2. Under the Gun (4:40)
3. Nobody’s Home (4:01)
4. Mean Streak (4:26)
5. Perfect Strangers (5:31)
6. A Gypsy’s Kiss (5:14)
7. Wasted Sunsets (3:58)
8. Hungry Daze (5:01)
9. Not Responsible (4:53)
Lineup:
Ian Gillan – vocals
Ritchie Blackmore – guitar
Jon Lord – organ, keyboards
Roger Glover – bass guitar
Ian Paice – drums
